The clean difference

The right warewashing appliance can make a big impact on a catering operation. Quicker tableware turnarounds, reduced water consumption and less energy usage can all be vital to overall running costs.

These considerations are taken into account by dealers and distributors when specifying equipment, but it’s only in revisiting previous installations that the impact of these choices can be seen. For instance, during one recent project, Ritchie Catering Equipment outfitted a Maidaid Minirack R300 at Towcester Racecourse, Northamptonshire.

The busy site required a warewasher that could cope with heavy demand. Maidaid believes that the R3000 is durable under pressure and that its specification met the end user’s work pattern.

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According to Ritchie’s MD, David Ritchie: “I was more than happy to specify this model as Maidaid Halcyon can be counted on to hold the correct machines in stock. We were given a very short time scale in which to quote, order, deliver and install – in fact the whole process was completed in 6 days. This is one of the reason we enjoy working with Maidaid Halcyon, as it can be counted on to go the extra mile.”

The Maidaid Minirack compact rack machine is designed to be powerful despite its small physical dimensions. Models in the range offer the capacity to wash from 50 to 220 racks an hour, with options including dryers, steam condensers and heat recovery for inline or corner applications.

This type was chosen for the Towcester Racecourse project as it could work within the limited space available in the refurbishment and provide the washing capacity required. Another reason was that the equipment was specified by a trusted distributor. Maidaid believes this further supports its position to work solely with quality regional equipment distributors.

School installations demand a lot of warewashing equipment too. Catering Equipment Support has been outfitting school kitchens in Hampshire, Wiltshire and Portsmouth as part of the UIFSM scheme, and chose DC Products’ PD1300A CP premium passthrough dishwasher. The project, which will see over 120 school kitchens benefit from the installations, is nearing completion.

Steriliser sinks in Hampshire schools were replaced with this warewasher model, with Catering Equipment Support’s MD, Simon Tavender, commenting: “The client needed a machine with good performance which showed excellent value for money. The built in water treatment, chemical dispensing and drain pump cut costs on additional equipment and made the dishwashers easy to use and maintain. This has shown to operate successfully, and made it the choice machine when looking at further installations. [[page-break]]

“The PD1300A CP has a load and start process as opposed to pre-washing then sterilising. This has reduced the build up of dirty plates and cutlery while having the benefit of removing bellows of steam and gas emissions from the kitchen. Due to the versatile corner configuration of the machine, space can be maximised.”

The PD1300A has a max load height of 400mm to accommodate speciality plates, kitchen utensils and equipment and is capable of washing an 18 full size plates in 1 minute. It comes with a selectable 1, 2 and 3-minute cycle timer and auto-start hood.

Elsewhere, Hobart UK recently worked in partnership with Derbyshire-based distributor, Northern Refrigeration and Catering Equipment, to supply and install AUPT-10A Hood Type warewashers with tabling, to the kitchen of Worksop’s North Nottinghamshire College.

With over 700 meals served each day, catering manager Jo Tindall and her team needed a machine to suit the high volume washing requirements of their busy kitchen but one that still had a modest footprint. The AUPT-10A could fit within a modest 3-4metre length space on one side of the kitchen, even with tabling, and Hobart believes is an economically efficient hood-type machine.

Northern Refrigeration owner, Mike Brown, said of the installation: “It was the right machine for the job and Hobart was brilliant from start to finish – it helped make the install go like a dream – a very positive experience, quick and efficient.”
Tindall commented: “After our old machine gave up the ghost, we needed a warewasher that could handle a lot of throughput, and Hobart’s machine is absolutely fantastic; quick, easy, perfect for our requirements and saves us a lot of time and effort from not having to pre wash heavily soiled items.

“The installation was done and dusted before we knew it and you couldn’t wish for more help and support both from Hobart and Northern Refrigeration.”

Another education sector installation was Global Foodservice Equipment’s team-up with Wexiödisk in the catering department of Nescot College in Epsom, Surrey. The distributor replaced the existing Winterhalter rack machine with a Wexiödisk WD-151 rack conveyor and a WD-PRM60 pre-rinse machine. [[page-break]]

John Shepherd, UK and Ireland country manager for Wexiödisk said: “The WD-151 was chosen for its significant energy, water and chemical savings as well as the inbuilt condensing system. Global Foodservice Equipment worked in conjunction with Wexiödisk and Nescot College to identify an impressive return on investment through outstanding sustainability features over the life of the system.”

This model is capable of washing between 70 and 250 standard baskets per hour and is said to feature a robust, hardwearing design. The appliance is constructed from high-grade stainless steel, including the internal pipework and wash-arms. Additionally, large, balanced, sliding doors and front access panels make wash tanks accessible for cleaning and maintenance.

The WD-PRM60 pre-rinse appliance re-uses the waste water from the warewasher to rinse incoming dishes. This is said to help to maintain the water quality of the main wash tank within the warewasher and eliminate the time constraints, water usage and occupational injuries associated with the previous manual hand-shower.

Shepherd concluded: “The combination of the WD-151 and the WD-PRM60 has significantly reduced the number of man-hours required within the catering operation, while it is also set to achieve a substantial saving on water, chemicals and energy. Operationally, the wash process has been sped up and an improved, safer working environment will be achieved by minimising heat escaping during the wash cycle and virtually eliminating the spill of water onto the kitchen floor during service.”

Winterhalter itself was involved in an educational outfit, for Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh – Scotland’s only all-boys’ independent boarding and day school, with 470 pupils aged from 7 to 18.

The manufacturer’s MTR rack conveyor warewasher was chosen after Merchiston consulted with six other local independent schools. The machine has to process large quantities of tableware and cutlery to a consistent standard.
June Hogg, deputy manager of Merchiston’s catering team, said: “It’s a dream – from the speed it works at, to how dry the plates come out, to the savings in energy and cleaning chemicals, we’re very happy with it.”

Along with the daily timetable that forms the heart of a busy school, Merchiston is also a popular location for weddings and functions. The MTR’s modular design means it can be adapted for any location. Hogg added: “The Winterhalter helps us to offer a top quality catering service, in addition to feeding the boys and the staff. No matter how busy we are, it can keep pace with us!”

The MTR uses a continual rack conveyor system, claimed to ensure consistent hygienic cleaning by providing an even transport speed of items being washed. Features like rack activation mean that processes only occur when racks reach specific zones within the machine, which helps to minimise consumption of resources and reduce operating costs. [[page-break]]

The machine’s fresh air drying zone draws in air from the outside room to use for drying, reducing energy consumption by at least 33%, according to Winterhalter. The humid air in the machine is removed by exhaust fans, claimed to reduce the temperature of the wash items by 10%, making them safe to handle from the wash.

Over in Sussex, Meiko equipment was part of the new £2.5m South Downs Heritage Centre and Nurseries project in Hassocks, featuring a coffee shop with a ‘state of the art’ kitchen and a fruit, herb and vegetable garden to provide fresh, seasonal produce for the menus.

Vision Commercial Kitchens performed the specification and the outfit, choosing a Meiko DV200.2GiO double basket dishwasher to enable the kitchen to cope with the large peaks and troughs in demand.

As the appliance includes GiO integral reverse osmosis water treatment, it saved space for the garden centre, as it did not require a water softener. It has a capacity of up to 120 baskets per hour.

AirConcept was crucial as part of the choice for the project. The dishwasher is situated in a constricted space and AirConcept captures exhaust heat and feeds the hot air back into the machine, keeping the climate within the wash-up area at a comfortable working temperature.

The addition of the GiO reverse osmosis combined with the AirConcept means that connection can be made to a cold water supply, which can be useful where there is no local hot water availability, because it saves on installing a boiler or extending pipework; or where hot water availability is limited.

The connected load of the machine is also claimed to be reduced by some 2.1kW, equating to an annual financial saving in the region of £552.00, presuming the machine is operated 8 hours a day, 365 days a year and based on a kW/hour rate of £0.09.